I enjoyed this second of the Luc Vanier crime novels.  While I don't love Luc Vanier in the way that I love Armand Gamache, I do appreciate and enjoy his darker and grittier tales.  

Set in Montreal once again, this time focussing on the Hochelaga district, Peter Kirby gets the atmosphere and locale pretty much bang on.  And this time, there's quite a bit of despair and darkness swirling around our hero, with the seemingly-hopeless case and the problems in his own personal life.  To be honest, while I don't mind gritty and rough, I could have done with a little less doom and gloom. Mind you, there is a dark side to many things Quebecois and Montrealais, so... I guess it makes sense.  *LOL*

So, all in all, a good read and one I can recommend if you like gritty police procedurals. 

Book 3, in Inspector Luc Vanier Mystery

I simply love this series and I am always eager to see what the author has in store for Inspector Vanier next case. In “Open Season”, Mr. Kirby has drawn his inspiration from current events and has explored troubling social themes in a gritty narrative of the plight of the vulnerable people he writes about.

This latest brings forward the sad case of human trafficking with Katya Babyak on a long journey into the sex trade and where she ends up in the hands of thugs who keep her prisoner. We have a converging plotline bringing a Guatemalan journalist fighting extradition while working on a story of illegal trafficking of sex workers in Montreal. Both women were trying to carve out a better life for themselves but ended up being exploited by criminals. The high level investigating team of Luc Vanier and Sergeant Sylvie Saint-Jacques brings the routine police procedural into a fast-paced and very engaging hunt with several intrigues. Mr Kirby touches the flawed Canadian refugee policy with a solid and suspenseful tale. Of course the author also added another layer of suspense with details of Vanier’s personal and romantic relationship.

“Open Season” , an edge of the seat thriller is definitely a deftly crafted and well told tale I enjoyed from start to finish and I agree with reviewers saying this is one of the best Canadian crime novels this year. Of course being a Canadian I may be slightly bias when it comes to Canadian authors and to any story set in my hometown of Montreal…:)

I picked this up because I saw the author interviewed on our local news and I liked him.  :)

So it's a mystery set in Montreal, starring Police Inspector Luc Vanier and I loved seeing all the familiar places pop up in the book and the familiar Montreal attitudes and personalities.  It all felt nice and familiar.  

The mystery itself was fairly well plotted and kept me wondering until quite far along in the book.  I enjoyed the different characters,  good guys and bad guys - most of them were nicely fleshed out.  I also enjoyed the voice of the book.  Just enough introspection and thoughtfulness to make things interesting.  I do wonder, however, what it was that made Luc's wife pack up and leave.  I guess I have to read the next one to find out.  *LOL*

Anyway, a very enjoyable read for me.  

Book 2, in the Inspector Luc Vanier crime novel series

What it is not to like when an author chooses your home town as backdrop for his mystery. Of course this novel is purely a work of fiction….or is it? After all, wouldn't it be inevitable for Mr. Kirby, a lawyer by profession, to explore the seedy side of a city he knows so well and provide his readers with an atmospheric book on the gritty streets of Montreal. Isn't it natural to be influenced and to explore social issues, relationships, politics and everything that may hit the headlines and work around this to provide us with an exciting read? Of course and with “Vigilante Season” we find once more a window into human nature in times of conflict. 

This second installment deals with drug dealers and prostitutes in a neighbourhood going through gentrification. The authorities are barely present and there is so much budgets cutbacks, a local militia has stepped in to help clean up the neighbourhood in an effort to impose their will. Inspector Luc Vanier is back to investigate the brutal murder of a drug dealer and in Mr. Kirby’s Montreal, thugs and lowlifes rub shoulders with the elite. 

This is a riveting story of corruption and street crime, fast-paced and an enjoyable escapism. The plot covers a lot of ground, this isn't simply a mystery it also solves it. The main theme centres on a fictional struggle for authority and justice and what happens to a neighbourhood when it has been abandoned by the police and politicians. While the side plots have Vanier helping his son to overcome his PTSD and to lighten the subject the most appropriated tad of romance crosses the pages. The story is well-written with a Montreal state of mind and goes beyond a straightforward narrative. We have first-rate characterization where good people do bad things and bad people do good things (or think they do). Another great novel and an author on my watch list. 

I am always attracted to stories set in my home town of Montreal so when I noticed Mr. Kirby’s debut novel I simply couldn't resist and I had to give it a try. Right from the start the story drew me in and I let myself be carried forward and enjoyed every moment I spent reading this captivating crime thriller.

The plot deals with the deaths of five homeless people on Christmas Eve. Inspector Luc Vanier, the protagonist, is the lead investigator. Montreal is as colourful and gritty as ever and at that time of the year the city is pummelled by endless snowstorms and freezing temperature. The author is very adept in describing every bit of it. Through his grit and determination and his old fashioned detective work we step in the world of Inspector Vanier and follow him along with his team as they pursue the trail of a serial killer. Deeper they dig, more people seem to be implicated: from high ranking member of the clergy and the boardroom of Montreal’s business elite to the back kitchens of the dispossessed. 

This story is a classic procedural thriller ferociously well-crafted, fast- paced with many red herrings, endless clues and a plot development that is most catching and quite realistic. We have scenes of a wonderfully city that casts its icy shadow and a group of fantastic characters to entertain us even if the main player can border on cliché. 

This is an enjoyable novel and I am definitely looking forward to “Vigilante Season”, its sequel.